The corpses cooled at their feet, their blood soaking into the hungry forest soil.
Lin Ze wiped his blade with slow, deliberate movements, the adrenaline still pounding in his veins. Yue Qing'er stood nearby, breathing heavily, her fingers trembling slightly despite herself.
She had seen death before.
But not like this.
Not with such ruthless, casual efficiency.
Lin Ze turned his head slightly, regarding her with those sharp, black eyes that seemed to pierce right through her soul.
"You need to get stronger," he said.
There was no judgment in his tone. Only a statement of fact.
Yue Qing'er lowered her gaze, ashamed.
"I will," she whispered.
Lin Ze sheathed his bloodstained knife and tilted his head toward the deeper woods.
"We can't stay here," he said. "The smell of blood will draw predators."
He turned without waiting for a response, and Yue Qing'er hurried after him, still feeling the faint pull of their newly-formed bond humming in the back of her mind.
The bond was strange—intimate, almost.
She could feel the edges of his emotions: cold focus, a simmering hunger for growth... and beneath it, something darker. A vast, endless ambition that sent a shiver down her spine.
Who exactly had she sworn herself to?
They traveled for hours, moving like shadows through the dense underbrush.
Lin Ze led the way with unerring precision, cutting paths where needed, avoiding the dens of beasts by instinct.
At last, as twilight bled into true night, the trees thinned, and they crested a low hill.
Beyond it lay their destination.
A sprawling mass of stone and wood, nestled like a wound upon the earth—the outer city known as Blood-Tide City.
Even from a distance, the place reeked of corruption.
Walls patched with mismatched stones. Guard towers manned by mercenaries more interested in extortion than protection. Lanterns flickered along the main roads, casting long, skeletal shadows.
Blood-Tide was a free city. No sect ruled it. No law governed it.Only strength and gold held sway.
Perfect.
Lin Ze's lips curled into a rare smile.
Yue Qing'er shivered beside him.
"Are you sure?" she asked. "That place... it's worse than the sect territories."
Lin Ze nodded.
"Worse for the weak," he said. "Better for us."
Without another word, he started down the slope.
The guards at the main gate barely glanced at them, too busy gambling and drinking. One waved them through after Lin Ze tossed a few battered copper coins into the dirt.
Inside, the city was alive with noise and chaos.
Vendors hawked spirit herbs, low-grade artifacts, and strange beast parts from filthy stalls. Prostitutes—both human and otherwise—lounged in doorways, calling out in sweet, poisonous voices. Thieves skittered through the crowds like rats, eyes gleaming with hunger.
It was a paradise for those willing to seize it.
Or a grave for those who hesitated.
Lin Ze kept Yue Qing'er close, weaving through the mess with sharp-eyed focus.
He had one goal tonight: resources.
Without spirit stones, cultivation manuals, and pills, there would be no rising through the stages. No strength. No revenge.
And no future.
"Stay close," he murmured.
Yue Qing'er nodded, clutching her tattered cloak tighter around herself.
They found what they were looking for on a side street: a squat, two-story building with faded banners hanging from its roof.
Iron-Wind Auction House.
The moment they stepped inside, the air changed.
It was cooler here, quieter. The guards by the doors wore matching armor—low-grade spirit artifacts, judging by the faint glow—and the clerks behind the counters watched newcomers with the detached greed of seasoned merchants.
Lin Ze approached a clerk, a thin man with calculating eyes.
"I'm here to sell," Lin Ze said simply, tossing a wrapped bundle onto the counter.
The clerk arched a brow and unwrapped it carefully.
Inside lay the Azure Frost Combat Manuals, bloodstained but still legible, and the Spirit Jade Pendant.
The man's eyes gleamed.
"A good haul," he said smoothly. "Normally, we'd take a thirty percent commission, but for goods like this... twenty."
Lin Ze's lip curled slightly. It was still robbery.
But he was in no position to negotiate.
"Fine," he said.
The clerk smiled, revealing gold-capped teeth.
"Wait here."
He disappeared into the back.
Yue Qing'er shifted uneasily beside Lin Ze.
"You're sure this is safe?" she whispered.
Lin Ze shrugged.
"Nothing's safe," he said. "But it's necessary."
Minutes later, the clerk returned with a small sack, heavy with coin and spirit stones.
"One hundred lesser spirit stones," he said, sliding the sack across. "And ten silver marks."
Lin Ze accepted it without comment.
It wasn't much.
But it was enough.
Enough to take the next step.
Enough to begin his true ascent.
Outside, they ducked into a crumbling inn called The Broken Fang.
Lin Ze rented a small room for the night—a single straw bed, a cracked window, and walls so thin they could hear their neighbors haggling, drinking, and fighting.
Still, it would serve.
He tossed the spirit stone pouch onto the floor and sat cross-legged.
"Rest," he told Yue Qing'er. "You'll need your strength tomorrow."
She hesitated.
There was something she needed to say—something that had been building since the bond was formed.
"Lin Ze," she said quietly.
He opened one eye, regarding her silently.
"I want to help you," she said. "Not just follow. I want to fight beside you."
He said nothing, waiting.
"I was trained in dual cultivation techniques," she blurted out, cheeks flushing pink. "Not... not the vulgar kind. Real, ancient methods. Techniques that amplify both partners' strength."
She bowed her head low.
"If you'll have me," she whispered, "I can make you stronger."
The room was utterly silent.
Lin Ze closed his eyes again, considering.
The system chimed softly:
[Special Option Available: Initiate Dual Cultivation Bond?]
Partner: Yue Qing'er
Technique: Frostbound Yin-Spirit Circulation (Low Heaven Grade, Fragmented)
Effects: Temporary Boost in Qi Recovery, Stat Amplification (Dual Only), Increase in Bond Strength
Proceed? (Y/N)
Lin Ze exhaled slowly.
Dual cultivation was dangerous. Tying himself too closely to another could create weaknesses. Vulnerabilities.
But strength was strength.
And in this cruel world, he needed every edge he could grasp.
"Fine," he said.
Yue Qing'er looked up, startled—and then nodded, determination blazing in her amber eyes.
She moved closer, sitting opposite him on the thin mattress.
They extended their hands, fingertips brushing.
The bond between them flared to life, brighter and hotter than before.
Slowly, guided by half-forgotten training, Yue Qing'er began the Frostbound Circulation.
Cool, silvery energy flowed from her fingers into Lin Ze's hand, wrapping around his veins, his bones, his very soul.He countered instinctively, channeling his fiery blood essence along her pathways, creating a perfect, spiraling circuit between them.
Their breathing synchronized.
Their hearts beat as one.
Spirit energy flooded through them—pure, cleansing, exalting.
Lin Ze could feel his dantian throbbing with newfound vitality, his flesh drinking in the surging power like a man dying of thirst.
Yue Qing'er gasped, her body trembling under the strain, but she held firm.
Minutes passed.
Hours.
The bond grew stronger with every heartbeat.
And when at last they broke apart, panting and dizzy, Lin Ze knew—
He was stronger now.
Not just in body.
In spirit.
In will.
And this was only the beginning.
[System Update: Lin Ze - Status Updated]
Flesh Refinement Stage: Early Third Stage (Minor Breakthrough Achieved!)
Spirit Energy Recovery Rate: +10% (Temporary, Bonded Boost)
Stat Amplification: +5% (While in Proximity to Yue Qing'er)
Bond Strength: 22%
Yue Qing'er slumped against the wall, exhausted but radiant.
"You... broke through," she whispered, awe coloring her voice.
Lin Ze smiled thinly.
"Of course," he said.
"I always rise."
Outside, Blood-Tide City shuddered under the weight of its own sins.
And somewhere, hidden in the higher districts where the real powers dwelled, someone took note of the sudden, sharp spike of spiritual energy.
Eyes turned.
Predators stirred.
And Lin Ze's war for supremacy had truly begun.